RISE & SHINE
A cherished but dated family home has risen from the style doldrums and now is the place to be for very chic holiday gatherings
LIVING ROOM
‘Festivities and family gatherings are important to us, so the living areas feature copious seating,’ says the owner. The focal point is a pair of elegant sofas covered in a rich shade of red, deliberately chosen for its energising qualities.
DINING AREA
Solid oak and natural linen define this relaxed space, which the family uses daily. ‘We wanted to reflect the setting of this home with a serene palette,’ says Somya.
walking into the ultra-chic hallway of this Hertfordshire home, with its chequerboard floor and forged metal spindles on the staircase, it’s hard to believe that it was once decorated in shades of mint and vanilla, complete with green carpeting and pelmet curtains. But its owners have an adventurous spirit and rather than sell the home where they raised their two daughters, they decided on an imaginative overhaul, with the help of designers Somya Singh and Maya Shah.
The couple are keen entertainers and so, along with a comprehensive reconfiguration, an energising palette of rich reds and deep greens was the order of the day, complemented by glamorous touches, such as generous swathes of richly veined marble and a fluted wood-fronted, mirror-backed bar, stacked with every conceivable cocktail ingredient. ‘We made sure all of the living spaces could accommodate at least ten people,’ says Somya, who moved the original dining room and study to the darker rear, swapping them with a living room and family room and adding a classic orangery in place of a dated conservatory. ‘What was refreshing was that apart from a few paintings, the couple were not attached to the possessions they’d accrued through the years so we really had free rein.’
That meant paring back in places – such as rationalising the layout – and adding in others, notably via cohesive joinery to combat a lack of storage space. Somya and Maya championed wood throughout, from rattan-backed joinery in the principal dressing room to band-sawn herringbone flooring. ‘We wanted to balance some of the deeper colours with natural materials, including limestone, marble, timber, linen and ironwork,’ says Somya. ‘Partly, that was so that inside and out could reconnect. The new orangery, with its more rustic floorin
